To get straight to the point: it failed.
Once the distance between Seo-jun’s true body and the puppet exceeded a certain range, the puppet couldn’t move forward anymore.
Or, more precisely, the mental imprint inside the puppet couldn’t go any farther.
It was proof that he hadn’t yet fully unified the puppet and the imprint into one.
In short, if he wanted the puppet to attend the Martial Alliance’s meeting, Seo-jun himself would still have to go somewhere nearby...
“Well, since it’s come to this, should we just go sightseeing?”
The Martial Alliance was located somewhere near the borders of Henan, Shanxi, and Hebei.
No matter how vast Seo-jun’s domain of control had become, it wasn’t yet at the level where he could encompass the entire Henan province.
But still, his range went well beyond anything you could call "normal."
They’d probably have no trouble visiting the Yellow River near the Alliance, or dropping by the Hwangbo Clan just east of there.
“Hmm... Should we pack a lunch or something?”
At Namgung Sua’s question, Chunbong shook her head.
“Let’s just find a popular restaurant around there. Good chance to let this guy see a bit more of the world.”
She gave Bi-yeon a couple of light pats.
Bi-yeon, who froze up anytime Seo-jun so much as looked his way, still nodded quickly at his master’s gesture.
“Y-Yes, ma’am...!”
And so, that was that.
****
At present, the war between the Orthodox and Unorthodox factions had entered a sort of lull.
Two of the Seven Black Gates—Qilun Gate and Sword Sect Gate—had been annihilated, the Pacheon House had lost its patriarch, the Ice Palace had been sealed, and the Great Dark Mountain Sect had taken heavy damage.
Logically speaking, it seemed like the Orthodox side should be able to press the advantage and wipe the Unorthodox out entirely. But there were two major reasons why that wasn’t happening.
The biggest one: the Lord of the Black Lotus, a martial artist at the Manifestation Realm.
And the second: the unknown number of reclusive masters that could pop out at any time.
Besides, the Transcendence Realm warriors of the Orthodox side didn’t exactly need to claim the Black Lotus’s territory for themselves.
So what if the Orthodox factions gained a little more land?
Sooner or later, the Unorthodox side would just rise up again, and it wasn’t like a bigger map was going to do anything for warriors at the Transcendence level.
So most of them wanted this pointless war wrapped up as quickly as possible... but—
The Emperor had a slightly different perspective.
“Something interesting finally happens after all this time—and I’m supposed to just sit out?”
Of course, the Emperor wasn’t a complete lunatic. He didn’t have some idiotic notion of going toe-to-toe with the Lord of the Black Lotus, who was at the Manifestation Realm.
He simply wanted some entertaining matchups between top Orthodox and Unorthodox fighters.
So the Transcendence Realm warriors attending this meeting were split into two camps.
The hawks, declaring: “We’ll wipe the Black Lotus bastards out completely!”
And the doves, saying: “We should at least stop the Emperor from doing something insane.”
The former included the Hebei Pang Clan, who had taken heavy hits due to their position near the front lines.
The latter was represented by the Hwangbo Clan, who were somewhat familiar with how messed up the Emperor’s mind was.
So where did Lee Seo-jun, the Heavenly Lord, stand?
If you had to classify him, he was a hawk. But to be more accurate—he didn’t really care.
After meeting the Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace, he couldn’t help but wonder: Does every single Black Lotus member really need to be slaughtered?
So with his chin resting on his hand, zoning out while scanning the faces in the meeting hall, he heard the Emperor speak.
“Well, there’s more of you than I expected, huh?”
Looks like he’d picked up a new dialect somewhere.
Hwangbo Ryung, Head of the Hwangbo Clan, let out a long sigh.
“Haaah... Surely not everyone here came just to provoke the Black Lotus. Why don’t we stop this nonsense and go back before someone does something stupid?”
To that, Pang Geuk-jin, head of the Pang Clan in Hebei, growled in response.
“I got my ass kicked. No way I’m letting it go.”
“Are you planning to startle the grass and let the snake escape?”
“I am the damn snake, you idiot! These lunatics didn’t just trample the grass—they bashed the Pang Clan’s skull in!”
“And when that blows up in our faces, the Pang Clan will be the first to get hit again.”
“Don’t care! What, you expect me to just sit there and take it? From the Pang Clan? I’d rather the world collapse than let that happen!”
As Hwangbo Ryung and Pang Geuk-jin raised their voices, the Emperor smirked and turned to the silent Seo-jun.
“And what does our Heavenly Lord think?”
“Where’s Jegal Tong?”
“That guy? He wouldn’t say a word even if he were here, so I left him out from the start.”
“Damn. I had something to ask him.”
“So then—what ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ do you think we should hit first?”
If you had to sum up the scene of four Transcendence Realm warriors in a meeting hall with one phrase, it would be: “Collective monologue.”
Seo-jun took in the atmosphere and silently entered deep thought.
If it’s just these guys, something is guaranteed to go wrong.
It might’ve looked like Jegal Tong had completely lost his strategic battle with Sama Hyeon, but you couldn’t evaluate the Namgung Jincheon incident in such a flat, simplistic way.
Looking back, Sama Hyeon’s strategy was a textbook case of “diversion to attack elsewhere.”
He stirred up chaos across the Orthodox world to hide his true target: Namgung Jincheon.
But Sama Hyeon never even bothered to conceal the fact that those distractions were just bait. He did it to overload the flow of information going to Jegal Tong.
Which is why Jegal Tong easily saw through that part. The real issue was figuring out what Sama Hyeon’s actual goal was.
And excluding Namgung Jincheon from that list? Honestly, it made perfect sense.
I mean, he was the strongest man under heaven.
Plus, this was an era where stuff like crystal orbs didn’t exist—civilization hadn’t invented that kind of tool yet.
With only messenger birds to rely on, Jegal Tong was always going to be late receiving intel. Time pressure was inevitable.
So in his rush, he probably made the most logical call.
“He’s targeting Namgung Jincheon? Only a lunatic would try something like that.”
Being the strongest under heaven sounds simple, but it's practically equivalent to the Orthodox faction’s ultimate weapon.
With the curse cast by the Qilun Gate Master, the Orthodox side couldn’t even track the movements of the Unorthodox’s Transcendence fighters. There’s no way Jegal Tong could’ve imagined Sama Hyeon would try something so reckless.
Hunting down the strongest man alive—alone, without backup, without prep?
Absolutely insane.
And yet, that insane plan worked.
Sama Hyeon managed to take down Namgung Jincheon. But in the process, the Black Lotus lost four Transcendence Realm fighters.
From a pure exchange ratio perspective, it was basically a win for Jegal Tong.
Not that anyone saw it that way. And yes, his response afterward was lackluster. But Seo-jun knew one thing for sure:
He was still better than the four idiots in this room.
I mean, look at this group.
The Emperor? Just a dopamine junkie.
Pang Geuk-jin? First time seeing him, but he’s more beast than man.
Hwangbo Ryung? Maybe the only normal one here... maybe.
And last but not least, Lee Seo-jun himself.
“...Ddu-ddya?”
Assessment complete.
In the noisy room filled with three shouting Transcendents, Seo-jun let out a snort and spoke.
“Hey, it’s hopeless with just us here. Let’s just call Jegal Tong already.”
****
“Why the hell am I here...?”
Jegal Tong desperately tried to moisten his dry, cracking mouth with spit.
His eyes wandered blankly around the meeting hall. The lineup was so absurdly elite that he honestly just wanted to bite his tongue and die.
The Emperor, the Head of the Hwangbo Clan, the Head of the Hebei Pang Clan... and to top it all off, the Grand Preceptor of the Namgung Clan.
And then, out of nowhere, him—the Chief Strategist of the Martial Alliance?
This was...
Frankly, someone like the Chief Strategist had no business being here.
Sure, it sounded impressive—Chief Strategist of the Martial Alliance—and to be fair, it was a big deal. But titles like that meant absolutely nothing in front of these people.
What could a mere strategist say to superhumans who lived above the clouds?
“I think we should proceed with this plan.” “Ugh, sounds like a hassle.” “Yes, of course! In that case... perhaps this one?” “Do I really have to go there? My joints are acting up lately.” “My apologies!” “How about we hit this location? Seems fun.” “But from a tactical standpoint—” “Do I look like I care?” “I’ll revise the strategy immediately!”
At this point, being this respected as a strategist was a miracle.
Up to the Extreme Peak level, maybe the title of Chief Strategist still held some weight. But once you were dealing with Transcendence Realm masters, the Martial Alliance’s strategist might as well be a guy they bumped into playing Go on the street.
One wrong word in here could be fatal.
Jegal Tong fought back the pressure choking his lungs and cautiously asked,
“Um... may I ask why I was called here...?”
The moment he spoke, all four Transcendence Realm warriors turned their gazes toward him. His face went pale. As he struggled to compose himself, the Heavenly Lord, Lee Seo-jun, spoke up.
“These four here.”
“...Yes?”
“No matter how you look at it, this isn’t gonna work.”
“...I’m sorry?”
“That guy, you see? The Head Priest?”
“Uh... yes?”
“We’re talking about attacking the Black Lotus with just a handful of Transcendents. And no matter what we try, I can already tell it’s just going to end in disaster.”
“...R-Right...”
Jegal Tong carefully surveyed the mood of the four gathered powerhouses.
The Emperor, as always, was smiling—completely unreadable.
The Head of the Hwangbo Clan, Hwangbo Ryung, was keeping a wary eye on the Emperor.
The Head of the Pang Clan, Pang Geuk-jin, was jiggling his leg like crazy, visibly frustrated. Knowing how hot-tempered he was, Jegal Tong flinched every time he moved.
And then, above all else... the Heavenly Lord, Lee Seo-jun.
Jegal Tong couldn’t even begin to guess what was going through his head.
Every human has some kind of thought process, but with the Heavenly Lord, that process flipped so quickly it was impossible to follow.
Everything he’d heard about him, everything he’d seen with his own eyes—it all confirmed the same thing.
He remembered a time when Lee Seo-jun’s presence alone had been sharp enough to make breathing feel dangerous.
But now, in front of him, there was no trace of that overwhelming pressure.
Had he simply recovered from the death of the Namgung Clan’s former head? Jegal Tong didn’t think so.
The ones to watch most carefully are Pang Geuk-jin and the Heavenly Lord.
With that in mind, Jegal Tong cautiously offered his opinion.
“I agree that the war needs to be brought to a close. And to that end, we need to first eliminate the easiest targets...”
He pointed to the map spread out across the table.
“At the moment, I believe the North Sea Ice Palace should be cleared out first. The Lord of the Ice Palace is currently undergoing qi deviation and the sect is effectively sealed, but the time it takes to recover from qi deviation varies from person to person. If we rush in recklessly—our own forces could end up—”
“Hold it.”
It was the Heavenly Lord, Lee Seo-jun.
Jegal Tong immediately stopped and looked at him.
Did I mess something up?
His eyes trembled. The tension strangled his heart as he waited for the Heavenly Lord’s lips to move.
Then came a thunderbolt.
“The Lord of the Ice Palace is a friend of mine. Let’s not touch the Ice Palace, yeah?”
“...Excuse me?”